By Dick Jordan
Finnish driver Markus Niemela hopes to “finish” first when the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars resume action this Saturday night at the Ventura (Calif.) Raceway.
Niemela leads Matt Mitchell by 17 points in the latest tally going into the Ventura race, the first ever for the West Coast Sprints at Ventura’s one-fifth-mile dirt oval by the sea.
Saturday’s race will be the first for USAC Sprint Cars since local hero Cory Kruseman was victorious in a 2010 USAC/CRA outing.
2014 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Standings: 1-Markus Niemela-500, 2-Matt Mitchell-483, 3-Troy Rutherford-444, 4-Jace Vander Weerd-436, 5-Richard Vander Weerd-423, 6-Dennis Howell-399, 7-Austin Liggett-370, 8-Danny Faria Jr.-360, 9-Ryan Bernal-355, 10-Nic Faas-342.